Psycho

"Psycho" is considered one of Hitchcocks greatest creations. The story starts with an office worker from Phoenix who meets her lover Sam during her lunch break. They want to get married but Sam cant afford to as he has to pay alimony to his ex wife. One afternoon at work she is trusted by her boss to put $40,000 in a One afternoon Marion is trusted to deliver $40,000 into a bank account. The money is the macguffin of this narrative. However the money is just too tempting so she decides to steal the money and start a new life. 

Whilst  on the run she gets caught in a storm which prevents her from going further so she decides to stay over night at the Bates Hotel. The motel is managed by a  young man called Nathan who appears to be completely under his mothers control.

The red herring of this film is brilliantly unique as the audience believe that the film is centered around money but really its about something more sinister. Because of this the murder of who appears to the protagonist shocks the audience. It appears that Norman's mother committed the murder however later on we learn that this was another red herring. This murder scene is seen as one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history. Throughout this scene an array of editing techniques is used such as fast paced editing and an iconic graphic match. 

The use of music throughout this films is archetypal. This is because whenever something major is about to happen the music starts which alerts the audience and builds suspense. 

Like the car scene and shower scene, fast paced action occurs frequently through the film. Another example is the staircase scene. After learning that Marian is missing her sister calls Sam and a detective. The detectives search leads him to the Bates Hotel where he continues with his investigation. Whilst there his investigation leads him to Norman's house where his mother supposedly lives. Once inside the house he walks up the stairs when suddenly he is attacked and repeatedly stabbed.

After not hearing from the detective Marion's sister and Sam head to the Bates motel where they trick Norman into thinking they're a couple. Whilst there they discover Normans mother died years ago after apparently murdering her partner. After murdering Normans stepfather she apparently committed suicide.This leaves the audience with many questions. Did Normans mother really kill herself? Is she really dead? is it her skeleton in the basement? No matter what the audience thought no one could predict that it was Norman Bates who murdered the detective and Marian and maybe even his own parents. It turns out that Norman is suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Norman developed this disorder as a result of severe emotional abuse from his mother during his childhood. After murdering his mother he assumed her personality to repress his awareness of her death and his feelings of guilt. Whenever his mother would take over completely he would kill anyone that threatened to break the illusion.